Union, City Islanders Battle to 1-1 Draw

City Island, Pa. (July 27, 2010) – Danny Mwanga’s tally in the 30th minute gave Philadelphia Union the lead but an own goal just a minute later proved to be the Union’s downfall as the club produced a 1-1 draw against USL-2 affiliate Harrisburg City Islanders on Tuesday night.

Philadelphia Union trialist and Harrisburg native J.T. Noone saw significant playing time as a member of both the Islander and Union squads, starting first for the home team and later changing to the Union blue and gold for the second half of the match.

The Islanders wasted no time putting the Union defense to the test, rattling off three scoring chances in the first 12 minutes of the match. The Union’s first real chance to get on the board came in the 15th minute off of a shot by Nick Zimmerman but Harrisburg’s Tomer Chencinski made a diving save to preserve the stalemate.

The Union seemed to pick up their offense over the course of the next 15 minutes resulting in the visitor’s first tally. A series of passes beginning with midfielder Andrew Jacobson and a deflection by Jordan Harvey set up a Union corner in the 29th minute. Fred’s service into the box was headed by Danny Mwanga into the lower left hand side of the goal to put Philadelphia up 1-0 in the 30th minute.

The Islanders would not be down for long, however, as miscommunication between Chris Seitz and Harvey resulted in a Union own goal, tying the game at one just a minute later.

Philadelphia continued to push for the remainder of the half but could not seem to break through the Islander defense and took a 1-1 result into the break.

Kyle Nakazawa returned to the Philadelphia line-up in the second half after almost a month long absence and made an immediate impact, nearly putting the Union ahead in the opening seconds of the stanza. Nakazawa drew a foul and his ensuing free kick nearly snuck into the upper left hand corner of the goal but Chencinski was there to punch it away.

Chencinski denied subsequent shots by McInerney and Nakazawa allowing his side to continue to pressure the Union defense over the course of the next 25 minutes. Brad Knighton came up big during that stretch but the Islanders weren’t finished yet. Brian Ombiji made a run down the right side of the field in the 90th minute and sent the ball into the box just past the reach of Knighton. Luckily for the Union, no one was able to get a touch on it and time expired with the 1-1 result.

Philadelphia Union returns to MLS play on Saturday, July 31st when they host the New England Revolution at 3:30 p.m. The match will be broadcast live from PPL Park on 6abc.